eben Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 I've got an African tank with the ph around 7.8 I've got dolomite mixed in with my standard gravel to buffer the water. I have some terracotta pots that I've cut in half and a whole bunch of artificial ornaments. I've got some river pebbles in there too for the tiny guys to hide in the cracks. This tank has been running for almost a year now. I've got a constant brown algae issue. I've added 2 marine glo lights to the tank a wile back to see if that might make a difference - it didn't. I've tried rowaphos too and that didnt make a difference either. At one stage I had black algae in my tank but that seems to have mostly died out. I feed my guys spirulina flakes and pellets twice a day. I do about a 30% water change every 3-5 weeks. The tank holds 540L. I have also tested my silicate levels and they are very very low, far too low to cause what I see in the tank. I am constantly battling brown algae and I have no idea how to get rid of it. I've pretty much exhausted my LFS of ideas. Today when I was at my LFS I asked them about their tanks and apparently they are constantly battling brown algae too. I love my fish but I dislike cleaning my tank since it always takes me 2-3 hours to clean it all and get rid of the brown algae. Have you guys got any advice for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 do you have any algae eating fish in there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 perhaps cutting back on feeding fish may help, ?? , just a suggestion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eben Posted June 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 I have 2 njassae and 2 multi's but they do not really seem to eat it, or much of it. I know something is eating some of it since I can see the nibbling marks, but clearly thats not enough to control it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 Your Synos won't eat algae, they are mainly insectivores which means they feed on insects. Never have any of our synos ever looked at eating algae. Mbuna will pick away at brown algae on rocks etc.. Duboisi is a good algae consumer.. they pick away at rocks and substrate all day. What sort of fish do you keep in your tank? and what is your feeding like? Do you feed heavily? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 You could chuck some bristlenoses in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eben Posted June 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 I've got malawis and tangs. I do feed them twice a day since I've been told that they are more active and thus probably require more food!? It almost seems like this could be wrong. I feed them in the morning and at night and enough food so they eat it all in a few minutes. I think putting any other kind of fish thats not from those 2 lakes would probably make my tank look tacky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 I have bristlenoses in all my tanks and dont have problems with algae growing on stuff, I guess its a choice really bristlenoses tend to hide all day anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 I feed my Africans three times a day :lol: And the young even more so.. of course in sparingly amounts, I don't go overboard each feed time.. they all get a chance of having a good feed per day. I have never had a serious algae issue in my African display tanks. In our Fron tank we had one duboisi who managed any algae that appeared on the tanks, however she had to go as she was causing havoc with maternal desires :lol: We have a Bruno (Rusty) Plec in the Fron tank who tolerates higher ph very well. He looks stunning in there. I am also one for biotype tanks, however, I don't fancy cleaning an 8ft tanks glass sides constantly :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eben Posted June 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 I'd love to have a few duboisi in my tank but I've not been able to find any at a decent size. they are quite expensive for the size I've seen... Would one of those cleaning fish be able to deal with my 6 foot tank? there is a fair amount of algae in there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 I have one Bruno in the 8ft, he does extremely well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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